NEW YORK, 18 May 2004 — The late Florence Griffith Joyner, the 100 meters world record holder and former Olympic champion, topped the list of 10 inductees into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame on Sunday.
The first class inducted since 1992 also included swimmers Janet Evans and Matt Biondi, speedskaters Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair, heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee and the 1996 gold medal-winning US Olympic women’s soccer team.
High jumper Alice Coachman Davis, the first black American woman to win Olympic gold, paralympian Randy Snow and Olympic film-maker Bud Greenspan will also be inducted in ceremonies scheduled for July 1 in Chicago.
A devastating blend of grace and power, Griffith Joyner’s domination of women’s sprinting remains unparalleled. She won gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters at the Seoul Olympics in world record times that still stand.
Griffith Joyner, who broke the world 200 mark twice in Seoul, aroused suspicions because of the startling improvements in her times and her muscular torso. But she never failed a drug test and retired before random testing was introduced. Flo Jo died prematurely at the age of 38 in 1998.
Biondi was no less dominant in the pool, claiming 11 Olympic medals (eight golds) to match the great Mark Spitz and shooter Carl Osburn for the most by a US Olympian.
Evans and Spitz are the only American swimmers to win four individual Olympic titles but she said on Sunday her greatest Olympic moment was passing the torch to Muhammad Ali during the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Joyner-Kersee is rated as one of the greatest track and field athletes of all-time, capturing back-to-back heptathlon gold medals in 1988 and 1992.
Established in 1983, the US Olympic Hall of Fame has been inactive since 1992.
But with new sponsorship the United States Olympic Committee plans to build a permanent home and exhibit on the grounds of its training headquarters in Colorado Springs.
Mutola Given Mozambique’s Highest Civilian Honor
In Maputo, World 800 meters champion Maria Mutola has been awarded Mozambique’s highest civilian honor for her contribution to sport. Mutola, the dominant figure in women’s 800 meters for a decade, was awarded the Order of Eduardo Mondlane First Class, which has previously only been given to heads of state and government. Sports Minister Joel Libombo said yesterday that the 31-year-old Olympic champion had received the honor for her patriotism and charity work.
